Myōjin Yahiko
Myōjin Yahiko was the only son of a low-ranking samurai family, but was orphaned during the early years of the Meiji era when his already poor family fell on hard times. Having no one else to turn to, Yahiko was made a pickpocket in the Tanishi yakuza, to whom his late parents owed a considerable sum of money. However, in early 1878, young Yahiko met and was rescued by the swordsman Himura Kenshin, who freed him from his debt to Tanishi and brought him to live at the Kamiya dojo, where the boy could hone his strength and restore his pride by studying kenjutsu. Though still a boy, Yahiko slowly becomes a competent swordsman in Kamiya Kasshin-ryū and eventually one of Kenshin's most trustworthy allies. Appearance Despite being shorter than average for the age of ten, Yahiko's appearance boasts of the defiant demeanor within with his rebellious "cat-like" brown eyes and shock of spikily unkempt black hair. He usually wears a green haori patterned with several sets of short, twin parallel lines and a white long-sleeved shirt underneath, as well as a dark hakama (sometimes white with dark vertical stripes) and standard white tabi and zori. In the anime, his haori is always yellow or tan and the hakama is a dark green; additionally, the anime version of Yahiko has a markedly tanned complexion. When out of the dojo, Yahiko also wears his shinai tied across his back for easy access. At 15, Yahiko has grown noticeably taller with a longer, more mature face, though his eyes and hair remain the same. He has switched his green haori for dark blue one with sets of twin parallel blue lines along the white trim (in deference to his old outfit) and kanji character aku (惡) emblazoned on the back of the collar (in deference to Sanosuke's symbol). He also wears a white hakama, white undershirt and blue wristbands. In the 20th volume of the Rurouni Kenshin kazenban edition, Watsuki redesigned of Yahiko's appearance to show how he would appear at that time. His hair was not as spiky as it was originally, and he had new clothes. He wore a dark jacket, a white short-sleeved t-shirt and short trousers. He did not have socks under his sandals and he had sarashi on his hands to offer a better sword grip. In the redesign, he also carried two swords - his shinai and the Sakabatō - with the latter tied on his back. Personality Even at the tender age of ten, Yahiko is a short-tempered, violent, bad-mannered and foul-mouthed young man. But, above all else, he is proud - proud of his samurai lineage. Taught cynicism and rebelliousness by the mean streets of Tokyo and schooled in thievery by the yakuza after his parents' deaths, Yahiko is nonetheless driven by his pride to avoid taking actions that would bring shame to his family name and reviles his days as a lowly pickpocket. Angrily rejecting the pity and charity of others, Yahiko strives to fix his own problems with his own hands and suffers greatly when it appears that his strength is not great enough to protect his ideals. As such, he quickly becomes infatuated with kenjutsu, training diligently to become strong enough that he needn't rely on anyone else's power. As he grows stronger and stronger under the guidance of the katsujinken philosophy, Yahiko also becomes driven by his samurai pride to take up his sword for the protection of the precious people around him. He frequently puts his own life in jeopardy to protect others and prove to himself that he is becoming stronger. When his friends have been wronged, he rushes headlong into the fray to enact revenge and see justice done. Despite his rude countenance and admittedly limited intelligence, Yahiko is also quite astute, being able to see inconsistencies and incongruities in the words and actions of other people and point them out bluntly. Despite his young age and his short time of training, as the series continues Kenshin allows Yahiko to fight with him, noting that he is too mature for his age. Though he often overestimates himself, Yahiko is able to defeat several enemies. In time Yahiko becomes a master swordsman; he grows into a level-headed, contemplative, and caring young man. Relationships * Himura Kenshin - Although even Kenshin is not safe from Yahiko's ridicule, criticism and violent temper, the young swordsman marks Himura as his hero and strives rather desperately to catch up with him both in terms of kenjutsu skill and wisdom. * Kamiya Kaoru - Yahiko initially views his kenjutsu instructor with a great deal of contempt, complaining about being taught by some "ugly girl" rather than the clearly superior Kenshin. As such, Kaoru is usually the one on the end of Yahiko's scathing comments, but it is perhaps due to this that the two have developed a relationship akin to that of close siblings. As the series progresses, he comes to respect her skill and devotion to kenjutsu while she comes to acknowledge his great strength and even greater potential. * Sagara Sanosuke - Yahiko and Sanosuke have a rather straightforward relationship in that they share a similar disposition despite their difference in age. As they become comrades-in-arms over the course of the series, Sanosuke becomes aware of Yahiko's promise as a swordsman and Yahiko becomes enamored with Sano's level of strength as well as his closeness to Kenshin. By the end of the series, Yahiko has acknowledge Sanosuke as another of his role models and even takes to wearing the Aku (惡) on his back in Sano's honor. * Sanjō Tsubame - Having met Tsubame after starting his job at the Akabeko, Yahiko became rather close to her (though he usually shows this via verbal criticism and sharp physical assaults). Caring for her, he initially puts himself at risk to protect her, making her his reason to act in certain circumstances, but as time goes on, she becomes more special to him. By the end of the series, it is implied that Yahiko and Tsubame have entered into a budding relationship and he becomes jealously angry when it seems that Yutarō has been making advances toward her. * Tsukayama Yutarō - Initially, Yahiko and Yutarō were hated rivals, striving toward strength in kenjutsu along parallel paths and sharing certain personality traits that made it difficult for them to get along. But after Yutarō spends some time training at the Kamiya dojo, even Yahiko becomes aware of the boy's unusual talent. When Yutarō is gravely injured and in danger of never again being able to wield a sword, Yahiko is unexpectedly the most devastated of all and gives his new friend the push necessary to pull him back into his dream of being a great swordsman. After Yutarō returns from Germany, his arm healed, he rejoins the crew at Kamiya dojo and becomes an assistant instructor along with Yahiko. However, it seems that their rivalry has also been revived, as Yutarō apparently makes frequent passes at Tsubame, much to Yahiko's chagrin. Abilities Yahiko is trained in the series in the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū swordsmanship style. During his six months of training, his teacher Kamiya Kaoru recognizes him as the strongest child in Japan, though Yahiko often says that is not good enough since he wants to be as strong as Himura Kenshin. After seeing several of Kenshin's fights, Yahiko becomes adept at imitating some of Kenshin's Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū (飛天御剣流, lit. "Flying Heaven Honorable Sword Style") techniques, combining them to perform many other powerful sword techniques. During Enishi's attempt to kill Kenshin, since Yahiko wants to become strong enough to protect his friends he is taught the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū's two succession techniques. In the first one, Hadome (刃止め, lit. "Stop the Sword"), Yahiko crosses his arms over his head and catches the blade of the opponent with the back of their hands. This allows him to maintain their grip on their sword while catching the opponents blade at the same time. However, if properly used, it can be chained into Hawatari (刃渡り, lit. "Cross the Sword"), Kamiya Kasshin-ryū's offensive succession technique. It is a counter-attack and can only be performed after a successful use of the Hadome technique. From the Hadome position, Yahiko twists his wrists, thus stripping the weapon of their attacker away from their wrists. He manages to use the technique in battle twice in a short time, when even Kaoru had never once utilized it successfully. Yahiko eventually becomes so adept at using the Hadome ''that he creates and starts performing a variation of the technique, called ''Hadachi ''(lit. "Break the Sword"), which uses his strength to snap off part of an opponent's blade. By the time he is a teenager he even becomes famous due to his title of "the man who has caught 1000 blades". History His father was a samurai who died during the Battle of Ueno in the Boshin War, slain at the Keneiji Temple. In ''Rurouni Kenshin Born January 1869 in Tokyo, Yahiko is arrogant, cheeky, bad-mannered and a user of profanity; he has already bestowed upon himself the title "Tokyo Samurai", as his father was a samurai who died during the Battle of Ueno in the Boshin War, slain at the Keneiji Temple. Because Yahiko respected his parents, he becomes a thief before the start of the series, to pay back their debt. Yahiko first appears trying to rob Kenshin, who stops him but lets him go. As his yakuza bosses are about to beat him to death for his desire to quit, Kenshin arrives to save him and take him to Kaoru's dojo to learn swordsmanship. Yahiko's dream is to be as strong as Kenshin so he will be able to protect himself and the people he loves. Despite his young age and his short time of training, as the series continues Kenshin allows Yahiko to fight with him, noting that he is too mature for his age. He becomes a witness to many of Kenshin's later battles to the point which Yahiko becomes adept at imitating some of Kenshin's techniques, combining them to perform many other powerful sword techniques. Yahiko also learns the principles of , which matches Kenshin's ideal of saving lives. When Kenshin goes to Kyoto to fight Shishio Makoto who wanted to conquer Japan, Yahiko accompanies Kaoru to find and aid Kenshin. While Kenshin goes to have his final fight against Shishio, he stays in Kyoto to defend their base, a hotel named Aoi-ya, from Shishio's forces along with Kaoru and the Oniwabanshū. They are successful in doing it, and Yahiko manages to defeat one of Shishio's strongest soldiers, Henya. Back in Tokyo after Shishio's defeat, Yahiko notices Yukishiro Enishi's revenge plot against Kenshin. Sensing his own inability to help, he trains much harder to learn the two succession techniques in Kamiya Kasshin-ryū. Such moves allow him to block an opponent's attack and then hit him with his weapon. He successfully learns both of this techniques and becomes so adept at using them, that Yahiko starts performing several variations. He uses these moves against one of Enishi's partners Otowa Hyōko and defeats him. While Yahiko rests from to his injuries, Kaoru is kidnapped by Enishi, and Yahiko and his friends start searching for her. When another of Enishi's comrades, Kujiranami Hyōgo escapes from jail and goes on a rampage, Yahiko stands up against him. However, he is not strong enough on his own to defeat him and Kenshin saves him at the last moment. After he and Kenshin recover from their fight injuries, they go to rescue Kaoru from Enishi. While on his island fortress, Yahiko defeats one of the four bodyguards from Enishi's partner, Heishin, and witnesses Kenshin's fight against Enishi, which Kenshin wins. Five years later, he is the acting instructor at the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū dojo. One day Kenshin calls him to test his skills; when he lands a hit on Kenshin, he gives Yahiko his own reverse-blade sword as a sign that he has become a true samurai. Development and Reception Category:Characters Category:Kenshin-Gumi Category:Male Category:Swordsman